OPINION | Bwanika Mastula | In fiscal policy, systematic indexation of individual tax brackets is crucial for equity and economic stability. As nations grapple with complex taxation systems, regular adjustments to tax brackets in response to inflation and economic shifts are increasingly necessary. A tax band, or tax bracket, is a range …
Read More »Kagame does it again
What Rwanda’s bid to host Formula One tells us about its president’s personal qualities as a leader THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | This December President Paul Kagame announced that Rwanda was bidding to host the world’s most iconic racing competition, Formula One. It is unfathomable that Rwanda would be …
Read More »Reimagining the role of Ambassadors & High Commissioners in economic diplomacy
OPINION | George Arodi | On a warm May afternoon in 2007, during a critical dialogue between the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the late Hon. David Nalo, then Permanent Secretary for Trade, made a thought-provoking remark: “Our embassies should be more than ceremonial. …
Read More »Requiem for America’s democracy
How America’s pursuit of global primacy undermines democracy at home and international law abroad THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I argued in this column last week that America’s pursuit of global primacy (hegemony) is increasingly becoming a liability to Europe’s security and economic prosperity. Germany is the biggest loser in …
Read More »The dollar diplomacy we need
COMMENT | ANDREW GALLUCI | Amid the recent maelstrom of political news was an important development for the future of technology-enabled public money. During the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, the Bank for International Settlements revealed that it was withdrawing from the digital-asset and payments initiative Project mBridge. Conceived in 2022 as a …
Read More »The sources of Japanese resilience
COMMENT | CHRIS PATTEN | I first visited Japan as a young member of the UK Parliament in the early 1980s. Yukio Satoh, an ambitious and forward-thinking diplomat who would later serve as Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations, had recently been posted to the country’s London embassy. Recognizing that the …
Read More »The presidential convoy: From progress to regression
COMMENT | Olivia Nalubwama | Dear reader, the presidential convoy is a most curious perk — whether understated or unrestrained. In Uganda, it is a fast and furious display of grandeur. Through the presidential convoy, one can track the metamorphosis of President Yoweri Museveni’s regime. The convoy could tell the …
Read More »A requiem for Europe
The costs and consequences of American primacy on a continent that gave birth to the modern world THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | By 1900, there was no part of this planet that was not directly (or somewhat indirectly) ruled from a European capital – London, Paris, The Hague, Berlin, Rome, …
Read More »The East African Revival – A legacy of transformation or an agent of stagnation?
COMMENT | Gertrude Kamya Othieno | The East African Revival, which swept through Uganda in the 1930s, is often celebrated for its spiritual renewal and moral reformation. Yet, beneath the veneer of unity and salvation lies a more complex legacy. While the Revival brought undeniable benefits, its long-term consequences raise important questions …
Read More »Why Bidenomics did not deliver at the polls
What accounts for Vice President Kamala Harris’s disappointing electoral performance, especially with working-class voters? COMMENT | DANI RODRIK | As US president, Joe Biden charted a new economic path for the Democrats by siding unabashedly with the working class and introducing a wide range of industrial policies to reinvigorate manufacturing, reshore supply chains, …
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